I guess, if you're 9.A big rule of thumb I have in advertising and persuasion is "Don't insult your customers' intelligence."Which is why I keep pointing out that puppets, drum circles and chalk don't change minds, but reinforce stereotypes.

The prounion protesters wrote on the sidewalks around the capitol square with chalk. I think pictures of the prounion chalk artwork was posted on this blog (rmember the outlines of bodies)and I don't recall anyone commenting on the use of chalk when the prounion protesters used it...

Just wanted to say that I just had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Breitbart after he finished appearing on the Michael Medved Show. Andrew said that he considered Althouse to be the best blog out today, and it's commenters the most balanced and intelligent of any blog.

Funny, there was a union protest outside the college where I teach today! Since it's in New York City, space was limited so the union used the sidewalk in front of one of the college buildings. I didn't see what exactly they were protesting, but I assume it had something to do with non-union construction in the building or something. The protesters were all men, the kind of big, aggressive union thugs you'd get from central casting. The all had pre-printed signs and were being intentionally loud and suggestively threatening to anyone who had to go into the building. I work quite a few floors up in the building across the street and yet they were so loud that we had to close all the windows (which didn't really help drown out the noise). They alternated between chants- standard fare, such as "No justice... no peace!" and a call-and-response thing where the leader shouted "We don't go away... we'll be here every day!" and the rest of them shouted a day of the week, followed by the leader shouting "Every day!" and the rest shouting another day of the week- and blowing extremely loud whistles for extended periods of time.

Being union types, they were there for about an hour or two and then they left.

No, I think chalk is actually better than just OK. It's perfect. It's easy to notice, and easy to apply, and very low cost compared with competing methods.

You can display a 20 foot message that thousands of people will see for a couple of pennies and very little labor.

Only a fool would call that ineffective. What's more efficient than that? It's a great grassroots tool, and it's used by young adults all the time on campuses nationwide because it's better than alternatives.

I notice somber has been unable to suggest a superior option. Posters? Pretty good, but inferior. Of course, the people with the chalk probably did that too. Union printed fliers? Pathetic. TV ads? No one cares.

Maybe a really good blog or youtube spot would work better, if it's authentic and well done, but very few people can pull that off because it takes a lot of effort and some skill.

Naw, I think somber is just a whiner. Only a kid cares about not looking young.

It comes across as bitter and unimaginative. Why deface someone else's project when you could make your own colorful creation beside it?

In other news, here is David Attenborough saying "boo" to a sloth. Did you know sloths descend to the forest floor to defecate? I would do it hanging from a branch. And they only poo once a week! Fascinating stuff. Far more fascinating than boring old Madison, where all the turmoil of months past has ebbed to the point of defacing chalk drawings. I'm nostalgic for war-torn Madison, when people took battering rams to the capitol building.

No, the rat wasn't there... but they did say they'd be back... EVERY DAY! so the rat might appear. The last time I saw the rat somewhere, I noticed that it was attached to a very noisy air compressor. I can't wait for a whole day of that noise on top of the whistles and chanting and horn-honking.

My office is on the capitol square in Madison and I watched the people writing the chalk messages. There have been a lot of pro-union chalk messages on the sidewalks aroung the capitol square, but this was the first time that I saw pro-Walker messages. The people writing the pro-Walker messages looked to be high school or college age. They wrote their messages and then left. I thought it was a great and subtle way to express their POV. Much better than the endless drumming and the in-your-face marchers and picketers who have tried to engage me in conversation as I have walked around the capitol square or passed in front of the M & I Bank building during the work day while just trying to get from point A to point B.

Like Olbermann. He implies that some arch-conservative should have been aborted by Planned Parenthood. When pressed, he claims he only meant the parents should have prevented the birth with family planning from PP.

Little metrosexual libtard. Doesn't have the balls to own his own rhetoric.

I saw them writing with the chalk from my office window and I even have a picture showing the people writing with the chalk. The writings were pro-Walker first and then someone added the anti-Walker words.